Off-duty officer nabs man for loansharking harassment

On Oct 22, at around 10.30pm, the officer from Jurong Police Division was on his way home when he spotted the suspect disposing small cans of paint into a rubbish bin at the said location.

The officer called for reinforcement and detained the man for questioning. After an interview, the suspected was arrested and loansharking-related paraphernalia such as gloves and a handphone with suspect debtors' records were found in his possession.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the 47-year-old suspect is believed to be a debtor-turned-runner and have assisted loanshark syndicates in harassment activities in housing estates such as Chao Chu Kang, Bukit Batok and Commonwealth. He is suspected of splashing paint on debtors' units and scrawling loanshark graffiti on the walls.

The suspect will appear in court on Oct 24. If found guilty, he will face a fine up to $50,000, a jail term up to five years and receive up to six strokes of the cane.